Quilting is becoming an increasingly important and integral part of my life. My creative outlet changes how I view the world around me, influences the activities I pursue with my family, and introduces me to new people whose life paths wouldn't ordinarily intersect mine. My life is much like my favorite types of quilts - scrappy and unconventional, full of interest and surprises, and with an underlying current of making do (and making something beautiful!) with what I have.

Monday, October 22, 2012

I have been admiring the Block Lotto blocks I've been seeing over at Julie's Joe Tulips Quilts blog for quite some time. Here's the post that put me over the edge, making me resolved to participate, but if you search her blog, there are TONS of awesome block lotto blocks on there, and she wins A LOT! I hope I have her luck!

I already have fabric cut out for a couple more blocks. I'm thinking maybe I'll make 4; we'll see.

This weekend was much busier than expected. Saturday morning, I was an uke (think rag doll/punching bag/test dummy) for a young woman who was testing for her first degree black belt test. It was actually quite fun being thrown around repeatedly, but boy, was I sore on Sunday!

Of course, that probably had something to do with what we did Saturday afternoon. The Farm Store had a big Fall Farm Festival day. There were vendors and tractors and livestock and a corn maze and lots of other things to do. It's how we spend the rest of the day.

A turkey drive, simulating taking livestock to market - fun for the kids, terrifying for the birds...

Petting animals - sheep and cattle, ducks and geese and turkeys, and pigeons

We spent 2 hours lost in the corn maze before we sneaked out from a path that was near the edge. Jason was horrified that we "cheated" but we had two kids with us who were about to have a meltdown.

Playing on hay bales - they thought it was fun to jump over the rows that made up the maze

But they didn't always make the whole jump!

Even I got into the act! See the guy in the back looking and me and saying, "What is that fool woman doing!?!"

Thankfully, there was a tractor with wagons to pull our tired bodies back to the parking lot. The kids are calling DIBS on the tractors they want. It was a beautiful day!

So, a Saturday where I barely saw the inside of my house, I was resolved to stay home on Sunday.

It was not to be. My oldest, Jason, has been asking if we can go to church. How do you say, "Mom is too lazy to go to church," while still setting a good example for your children? For a while, I could put him off because I wasn't sure my beliefs would line up with those of the parishioners at many of the area churches, but I keep meeting some pretty progressive, liberal, and NICE people who go to a local church, and they have invited me time and time again. So we went to church yesterday. Jason was so excited, and dressed to the nines again (no hat this time, but a sweater vest and bow tie - forgot to take a photo). Donald was despondent, and walked in his slouchy "I'm doing this only under duress" way until I threatened him with not being able to watch The Cosby Show with us (that's our new family evening activity - we bought 4 seasons worth!). I was somewhere in between - mostly just thinking of all the time I wouldn't be able to spend quilting. Sounds terrible, I know. I hope I don't lose any readers over that confession.

But church was nice, and afterwards, Donald came bounding out of the enrichment room to show me what he had made and then ran off with a new friend to scarf down cookies and lemonade before playing in the church courtyard. We'll probably go again.

OK, lazy Sunday afternoon coming up with lots of sewing, right? Wrong! My hubby called to see if we wanted to go on a family outing. Our jobs are both so busy that it is rare that we have time to go out as a complete family, so, of course, I said yes. We got back at dark. It was fun, but now I am wishing I had one more day to the weekend so I could stay home and sew! And wouldn't you know it, my kids don't have school today! I left the house grumbling this morning, wishing I were still in bed like the rest of my family.